1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to auxiliary eyewear attachment methods and apparatus, and more particularly, to an auxiliary eyewear for magnetically attaching to conventional eyeglasses.
2. Background Information
Auxiliary eyewear to convert conventional eyeglasses to sunglasses are very popular. They allow the user to usually avoid the need for two separate prescription lenses. They can also be used, but less frequently, to attach auxiliary eyewear that can change the prescription of lenses. The more common use, however, is to add tinted lenses to conventional eyeglasses.
A number of different designs are available for auxiliary eyewear including clip-on eyewear, as well as auxiliary eyewear attachment using magnets. One method of attaching auxiliary eyewear is by clips. A method of attaching auxiliary eyewear by clips is shown and described in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/510,797 filed Aug. 3, 1995 to the same inventor as the invention disclosed herein and incorporated herein by reference. Another patent describing a clip-on type of sunglasses is disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,696,571 issued Dec. 9, 1997 to Spencer et al. In these devices auxiliary eyewear is fastened to eyeglasses by a conventional clip system with one clipping engaging the temple while other clips engage the conventional frame.
A newer and very popular method of attaching eyeglasses is by using magnets. One such method is disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,105 of Meeker. In the Meeker patent the conventional frame includes a magnetic material secured around the peripheral portion facilitating attachment of auxiliary eyeglasses to the conventional eyeglass frame.
Another method of attaching auxiliary eyeglasses using magnets is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,537 of Sadler having magnets secured to temporal portions of a conventional frame that mate with similar magnets in auxiliary eyeglass frames. In the Meeker and Sadler patents, the magnets are embedded in portions of the frames in a vertical orientation for mating with similar magnets in the auxiliary eyeglasses. A problem with this type of arrangement is that the auxiliary eyeglasses are held in place in front of the conventional eyeglasses only by the strength of the magnets. There are no supporting members to prevent the auxiliary eyeglasses from moving vertically relative to the conventional eyeglass frame. Therefore, when the auxiliary eyeglasses are used in some strenuous activity such as jogging or exercising they can slide off and become detached from the conventional frame.
A design that solves this problem by having magnets in auxiliary eyeglass extensions is disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,207 of Chao. In this patent the problem of the eyeglasses sliding vertically and coming off the conventional eyeglasses is solved by extensions on the auxiliary eyeglasses having magnets that extend over (i.e. above) hinge connections for the temples of the conventional eyeglasses. Magnets in the hinge connections mate with magnets in the extensions to hold the utility eyeglasses in place in front of the conventional eyeglasses. The extensions fitting over (i.e. above) the hinge portions of the conventional eyeglasses prevent the frames from moving downward. It was thought that this combination of the extension being above the temple connection in combination with the magnet prevents the auxiliary eyeglasses from moving downward relative to the conventional eyeglasses and being dislodged during strenuous activity. That is, the patent describes the prior art as being unable to provide a practical solution to attaching auxiliary eyeglasses to conventional eyeglasses with magnets alone.
The problem with the eyeglasses disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,207 is that the auxiliary eyeglass extensions must be carefully placed above the temple hinge connections. This makes it little more difficult to attach the auxiliary frames to be sure that the extensions are placed carefully above the hinge connections of the conventional eyeglass. In most cases a wearer has to remove his conventional eyeglasses to attach the auxiliary lenses.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for attaching auxiliary eyeglasses to conventional eyeglasses.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for attaching auxiliary eyeglasses to conventional eyeglasses with magnets alone without any need for other support.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of attaching auxiliary eyeglasses to conventional eyeglasses by appendages having magnets that fit below and mate with similar magnets in the conventional eyeglass extensions for attaching eyeglass temples.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved magnetic attachment of auxiliary eyeglasses to conventional eyeglasses with magnets that are oriented to maximize the magnetic force to prevent vertical or downward movement of the auxiliary eyeglasses.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary eyeglass magnetic connection having magnets that are oriented horizontally to maximize the magnetic force in the vertical direction.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary eyeglass magnetic connection that has magnets mounted in sockets that are slightly recessed to assist in alignment when the auxiliary eyeglasses are mounted on a conventional eyeglass frame.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide auxiliary eyeglasses mounted by magnets that have a variety of shapes and surfaces to assist in alignment and stabilization.
Another object of the present invention is to provide auxiliary eyeglasses that include magnets for attachment to conventional eyeglasses that have mating magnets in which at least one set of magnets are permanent magnets.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide auxiliary eyeglasses mounted by magnets that mate with similar magnets on conventional eyeglasses in which the magnets are in various shapes such as concave/convex spherical; concave/convex conical; cylindrical magnets; or ring-shaped magnets mating with domed magnets.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide auxiliary eyeglasses that include a reflective coating on an outer peripheral portion to permit a wearer to have a view to the rear.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary eyeglass magnetic attachment that includes additional supporting clips, if desired.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide auxiliary eyeglass magnetic attachment that includes a clip that conveniently fits over the bridge of conventional eyeglass frame.